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It has been six years since French black metallers Haemoth released an album, and by the sound of things, they spent every second of that time nursing a simmering fury. From the opening moments of "Odium," crackling energy pours off the album like a heat haze.
The production is ugly, as much black metal is, but deliberately so, full of buzz and blare that snarl in the listeners' ears and are as much a part of the instrumentation as the hissing vocals or ominous, blaring riffs. The treble is turned up incredibly high, giving everything a metal-on-metal harshness that sounds like red-hot filings burrowing into your eardrums.
In terms of mood, intensity and sound quality, In Nomine Odium is an unqualified success. The riff structures tend towards the repetitive side, without a lot of variation or surprise. "Spiritual Pestilence" shakes things up the most; it's an instrumental with a slower, looming rhythm and thoroughly unsettling composition. If you're looking to drink some nihilistic tincture, the indiscriminate hate of In Nomine Odium is exactly what you're waiting for.
